Sanchez, Russell

Russell Sanchez was born at San Ildefonso Pueblo in 1963. As a child he spent a lot of time with his grandparents, Oqwa Pi (an award-earning painter) and Tomasena Cata Sanchez, Rose Gonzales‘ younger sister.

When Russell was about 8, Rose began teaching him the traditional way to make pottery. He says that one day when he was 11 or 12 he put a batch of small, newly finished black-on-black pots outside and Anita Da (Popovi Da‘s widow) came by and took a look. Then she told him, “I want you to start bringing me stuff” and that’s how his pottery career really began to take off.

After a while he also began working with Rose’s daughter-in-law, Dora Tse-Pe. From Dora he learned how to refine his process and attain a more perfect product. Since then he has developed his own techniques and has often been referred to as a modernist potter.

Because he grew up speaking Tewa, Russell was able to converse with his tribal elders. Because he could speak to them in Tewa, they told him where to go and what to look for when he went out in search of clay deposits.

He found many of the old clay sources at San Ildefonso and has used them to help recreate many of the San Ildefonso styles from the 1800s. It was in the early 1900s that most San Ildefonso potters started creating black-on-black pottery.

Russell has done significant research into old styles and designs among the collections at the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture and the School for Advanced Research. If you ask if he copies any of those he responds with a saying he learned in his youth: “This is mine, this is what I do. Take it and make it your own.”

Russell is an avid outdoorsman and an expert with a kayak and a river raft. He’s paddled rivers in Peru and Chile. He’s challenged the Zambesi River in southern Africa. However, tamer rivers closer to home allow him to gather clay wherever he finds it.

That has led to experiments with many different types of clay, even to the point of incorporating two or more different colors of clay into the same pot.

He also often uses slips made of different colors of clay, including micaceous. His designs are painted, carved, incised and sometimes inlaid with turquoise and/or coral and strands of heishi beads.

For Russell, “traditional” doesn’t mean being stuck in any one time period. It’s more like growing and moving forward with everyone adding something else to the “traditional” as they travel their own paths.

Russell has earned many awards over the years, including several First and Second Place ribbons at the Santa Fe Indian Market, the Eight Northern Pueblos Arts & Crafts Show and the Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market.

Collections of his work can be found at the Millicent Rogers Museum in Taos, New Mexico, the Museum of Natural History in Los Angeles, the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC, the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture in Santa Fe, New Mexico and the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona.

In 2017 Russell was awarded the 2017 New Mexico Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts.

Some of the Awards Russell has Earned

• 2021 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division C – Carved, native clay, hand built, fired out-of-doors: Honorable Mention. Awarded for artwork: “Black Sienna Jar”
• 2021 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division D – Figurative, native clay, hand built: First Place. Awarded for artwork: “Red Bear Lidded Jar”
• 2021 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division F – Any design or form with non-native materials, includes kiln-fired pottery: First Place. Awarded for artwork: “Black Gunmetal Water Jar”
• 2021 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market: Judge’s Choice – Charles King. Awarded for artwork: “Red Bear Lidded Jar”
• 2020 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, Classification II – Pottery: Best of Classification. Awarded for artwork: Pottery with Detached Lid
• 2020 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division B – Unpainted, included ribbed, native clay, hand built, fired out-of-doors: First Place. Awarded for artwork: Pottery with Detached Lid
• 2020 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division C – Carved, native clay, hand built, fired out-of-doors: First Place. Awarded for artwork: Pottery with Detached Lid
• 2020 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division D – Figurative, native clay, hand built: First Place. Awarded for artwork: “Bear”
• 2019 Santa Fe Indian Market, Classification II – Pottery: Best of Classification
• 2019 Santa Fe Indian Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division D – Contemporary pottery, any form or design, using Native materials with or without added decorative elements, traditional firing techniques: Best of Division
• 2019 Santa Fe Indian Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division D – Contemporary pottery, any form or design, using Native materials with or without added decorative elements, traditional firing techniques, Category 801 – Sgraffito, any form: Second Place
• 2019 Santa Fe Indian Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division D – Contemporary pottery, any form or design, using Native materials with or without added decorative elements, traditional firing techniques, Category 804 – Painted, any form: First Place
• 2019 Santa Fe Indian Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division D – Contemporary pottery, any form or design, using Native materials with or without added decorative elements, traditional firing techniques, Category 805 – Figures, including sets: First Place
• 2018 Santa Fe Indian Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division D, Contemporary Pottery, Any Form or Design, Using Native Materials with or without Added Decorative Elements, Traditional Firing Techniques: Best of Division
• 2018 Santa Fe Indian Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division D, Contemporary Pottery, Any Form or Design, Using Native Materials with or without Added Decorative Elements, Traditional Firing Techniques, Category 801 – Sgraffito, Any Form: First Place
• 2018 Santa Fe Indian Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division D, Contemporary Pottery, Any Form or Design, Using Native Materials with or without Added Decorative Elements, Traditional Firing Techniques, Category 807 – Miscellaneous: First Place
• 2018 Santa Fe Indian Market: Tony Da Memorial Award, “New Vision in Pueblo Pottery.” For Excellence in the Creative and Innovative Use of Traditional Materials and Techniques
• 2018 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market: Judge’s Award – Dr. Arthur Pelberg. Awarded for artwork: Black Mica Polished Water Jar
• 2017 Santa Fe Indian Market: Classification II – Pottery, Division D – Contemporary Pottery, any form or design, using Native materials with or without added decorative elements, traditional firing techniques, Category 801 – Sgraffito, any form: First Place
• 2017 Santa Fe Indian Market: Classification II – Pottery, Division D – Contemporary Pottery, any form or design, using Native materials with or without added decorative elements, traditional firing techniques, Category 805 – Figures, including sets: First Place
• 2017 New Mexico Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts. Note: public ceremony held September 15, 2017, at the New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico
• 2017 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market. Classification II Pottery, Division B – Unpainted, Including Ribbed Native Clay, Hand Built, Fired Out-of-Doors: First Place. Awarded for Art Work: Old Style Black Water Jar
• 2016 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division D – Traditional – native clay, hand built, figurative: First Place
• 2016 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division E – Non-traditional design or form with native materials: Second Place
• 2015 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division D – Traditional – native clay, hand built, figurative: First Place
• 2014 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division E – Non-traditional design or form with native materials: Second Place with Jennifer Tafoya
• 2014 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division G – Pottery miniatures not to exceed three inches at its greatest dimension: Second Place with Nancy Youngblood
• 2013 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, Classification II – Pottery: Best of Classification with Jennifer Moquino
• 2013 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division D – Traditional, native clay, hand built, figurative: First Place with Jennifer Moquino
• 2013 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division C – Traditional, native clay, hand built, carved: Second Place
• 2013 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division F – Non-traditional design or form with non-native materials: Second Place with Jennifer Moquino
• 2012 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division D – Traditional, native clay, figurative: Honorable Mention
• 2010 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division D – Traditional, native clay, hand built, figurative: Honorable Mention
• 2010 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division F – Non-traditional design or form with non-Native materials: First Place
• 2010 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division F – Non-traditional design or form with non-Native materials: Second Place
• 2009 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, Classification II – Pottery: Best of Classification
• 2009 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division D – Traditional – hand-built, figurative: First Place
• 2009 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division E – Non-Traditional Design or form with non-Native materials: Honorable Mention
• 2008 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division C – Traditional, native clay, hand built, carved: First Place
• 2007 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, Classification II – Pottery: Best of Classification
• 2007 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division D – Traditional – hand-built, figurative: First Place
• 2007 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division E – Non-Traditional Design or form with non-Native materials: First Place
• 2007 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division F – Non-traditional design or form with non-native materials: First Place
• 2006 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, Classification II – Pottery: Best of Classification
• 2006 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division C – Traditional – Native clay/hand built/carved/ribbed/incised: Second Place
• 2006 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division D – Traditional -native clay/hand built, figurative effigies, canteens, plates, storytellers, nativity scenes: Second Place
• 2006 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division F – Non-traditional design or form with non-native materials: First Place
• 2004 Santa Fe Indian Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division H – Non-Traditional Pottery Using Traditional Materials and Techniques with Non-Traditional Decorative Elements, Category 1501 – Jars, Wedding Jars, and Vases: First Place
• 2004 Santa Fe Indian Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division H – Non-Traditional Pottery Using Traditional Materials and Techniques with Non-Traditional Decorative Elements, Category 1502 – Bowls: Second Place
• 2004 Santa Fe Indian Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division H – Non-Traditional Pottery Using Traditional Materials and Techniques with Non-Traditional Decorative Elements, Category 1503 – Combined Techniques, Any Shaped Vessel: Second Place
• 1979 Heard Museum Guild Indian Arts and Crafts Exhibit, Classification XI – Students – Grades 7 through 12, Division HH – Pottery: Third Place. Awarded for artwork: Pottery
• 1978 Heard Museum Guild Indian Arts and Crafts Exhibit, Classification X – Students – Grades 7 through 12, Division HH – Pottery: Second Place. Awarded for artwork: Seed pot
• 1978 Heard Museum Guild Indian Arts and Crafts Exhibit, Classification X – Students – Grades 7 through 12, Division HH – Pottery: Third Place. Awarded for artwork: Etched jar with turquoise
• 1977 Heard Museum Guild Indian Arts and Crafts Exhibit, Classification XI – Students – Grades 7 through 12, Division GG – Pottery: Second Place. Awarded for artwork: Wedding vase
• 1977 Heard Museum Guild Indian Arts and Crafts Exhibit, Classification XI – Students – Grades 7 through 12, Division GG – Pottery: Honorable Mention. Awarded for artwork: Black bear with stone